


Behold Yourself

by SurpassTheStars



Series: MAGtober 2020 [3]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Helen is she/they, Jon is referred to as “the Archive”, M/M, MAGtober, Post-Episode: e160 The Eye Opens (The Magnus Archives), day 3: apocalypse, i just think it’s neat, i wrote this at 1 am, jon entering the panopticon: i’m about to end this entity’s whole career, jon gets called ‘it’ for a bit, the panopticon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:01:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26854120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SurpassTheStars/pseuds/SurpassTheStars
Summary: “It beholds everything, yet it cannot behold itself, for how would an eye turn to look at itself?”
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Series: MAGtober 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1958977
Comments: 1
Kudos: 64





	Behold Yourself

**Author's Note:**

> sexy of me, yes?

“Are you sure this’ll work?” Martin asks as he looks towards Jon. They were in the panopticon trying to figure out what to do now that their plan to reverse the apocalypse was down the drain, having climbed up into the Eye’s domain only to find the body of Elias Bouchard free of any life it might’ve once had.

“There’s only one way to find out, I suppose.” Jon replied, he exhaled as he finally managed to detach Elias’ body from the throne chair that sat in the middle of the room. “Would you help me with him? He’s quite heavy.”

Martin chuckled before walking over and picking the body up. “He’s not that heavy, you’re just very small.” Jon muttered under his breath as he sat into the chair, Martin sat the body to the wall just ways from the chair before turning towards Jon.

Five tape recorders click on.

_ “The Eye beholds, for it is its job. It looks and it looks. It observes and it absorbs. The Eye sees and it Knows, for what is the point of idle watching if you do not learn? The Eye sees and it Beholds. _

_ It sees the world it has created, and it laughs though it does not have a mouth and it grins though it has no teeth. It is proud, for now it can see all. It sees and it beholds and it Knows and it drinks it all. _

_ The Eye watches as it puts on its Watcher’s Crown, though it has no head nor any hands yet the Crown is firmly placed atop its head. It drinks the fear and it drains who or what comes into its domain, it turns its gaze on what it wants and it Learns. _

_ It beholds everything, yet it cannot behold itself, for how would an eye turn to look at itself? The Eye knows what it has done and it is proud. It sits on it’s throne and Sees. _

_ The Archive walks into its domain, it beams. It Knows that the Archive had reshaped the world for the Ceaseless Watcher. The beam turns into a glare, the Archive isn’t happy with the world it had shaped. _

_ The Archive wants to change the world once more, ‘don’t you know that’s impossible?’ The Eye supplies, it tries to show the Archive that this new shaped world is beautiful, ‘it would be a shame to ruin it.’ It presses on. _

_ The Archive presses on, and it stands in front of its patron and tells it to stand down. The Eye bristles, it doesn’t want a new world. _

_ An Eye can’t behold itself, for how could an eye turn to look at itself? ‘Behold.’ The Archive says, opening its Eyes. ‘Ceaseless Watcher turn your gaze and Behold yourself.’ More Eyes open. _

_ The Archive pushes forward, the Eye struggles. ‘See what you are, See what you have created, Look and Know.’ The Eye refuses, An Eye Cannot Behold Itself. _

_ ‘But you can.’ The Archive’s Eyes Look and they Drink, the Eyes See and they Learn and they Know. The Watcher’s Crown is being Lifted and the Archive Watches.” _

A bright green light erupts from the throne chair and Martin has to shield his eyes, a moment late perhaps as he shook off the daze he fell under listening to Jon. When the light disappeared the world fell silent.

The panopticon was empty, the body of Elias was still there and at least fourteen tape recorders were scattered around but Jon was nowhere. There were no screams outside either.

Jon wasn’t there, he realised with a start the daze finally falling off his brain. “Jon? Jon?!” The stick he used was still there, but there was no Jon.

“ _ Well _ , that’s an end to the apocalypse I didn’t expect.” Martin whipped around to find Helen leaning against the doorframe to her vibrant yellow door.

“Helen? Where’s Jon?!” 

“The Archivist— or should I call him the Archive now?— is gone!”

“Gone?!” Martin’s voice rose to a shrill, “Where is he?!”

“Well, he’s everywhere and nowhere! It depends on how you see it really.” Her laugh pierced his brain, he could feel a headache forming quickly.

He tried to force the headache out by massaging his temple. “What does that–? What does that even mean?!”

“The Archivist turned the Eyes gaze towards itself, he rid the world of the apocalypse but at a cost! He is technically a part of the beholding now!” They smiled widely, too widely Martin was scared it would stretch wider than her face.

“Jon, is the Eye?” Martin blinked as the words processed. “Jon, ‘The Archivist’. Is now the Eye.”

“He is!”

Martin had to sit down.

—————

A tape recorder clicks on.

“Statement of Martin Blackwood, regarding the inevitable death of his fiancé once known as Jonathan Sims, the Archivist, now known as The Eye. Statement taken sometime after the end of the world. Statement begins.

Jon. I am positively going to murder you.”

The Eye fondly laughs, though it is not the Eye that was once the ruler of a broken world. This Beholder is newer, it had brought forth the apocalypse and ripped it away.


End file.
